‘I can’t sleep at night worrying about the displaced communities in the refugee camps at the border of Myanmar and Thailand that are not getting their medications’.
That was the message I received from a dear friend in the USA.
My friend is a fellow chassid/student of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Motivated by the Rebbe’s clarion call that no one should be forgotten, and no cause be overlooked, my friend became a tireless advocate and activist for people in need. With a special emphasis on those who may otherwise be overlooked.
In February when the US government aid cuts were announced, my friend read news reports like the below one,
…. the aid stoppage is posing serious risks to the rights to health of more than 100,000 people living in nine refugee camps on the Thai side of the border with Myanmar.
It motivated him to call me and ask how he could do something to help.
I reached out to N. one of our local Jewish community members who works in the field of health development aid. N. knows well-placed people in the refugee aid program. We set up a conference call.
My friend reached out to a generous donor and organized the funds needed for the medications at several of the refugee camps. The medications that these funds paid for, saved countless lives for the few months till the lifesaving US grants were partially restored.
Aid distribution at the refugee camps in Myanmar earlier this year— inspired by the Rebbe
I was thinking to myself that this kind of impactful work is not something one automatically associates with the Rebbe, a great Jewish/Chasidic leader.
One of the main missions of the Rebbe was studying and teaching Torah continually. Indeed, the Rebbe taught publicly for more than ten thousand hours and published hundreds of books.
Motivating Jewish people around the world to do mitzvahs was another cornerstone of his work.
Yet, far from focusing only on the revival of his own flock of Chassidim or even the Jewish people, the Rebbe turned his gaze outward to the world at large, expending thousands of hours meeting and corresponding with people from all walks of life, among them rabbis, statesmen and laypeople, Jews and non-Jews.
Alongside his vast Torah scholarship he would also passionately address the state of the broader society—speaking on everything from criminal justice reform to social safety nets to the fundamental need for moral and ethical education for all. Thirty years after his passing, the Rebbe’s moral and ethical teachings for the world continue to serve as a guiding force for a generation of Jews and non-Jews seeking to change the world for the better.
For at the heart of true Jewish leadership is care for each member of the Jewish people and a vision of moral guidance, clarity and direction for the entire human race.
It makes perfect sense that my friend, a devotee of the Rebbe, wants to act in the responsible way that our Rebbe has taught.
The first time I personally engaged in this aspect of our universal mission was in the aftermath of the Tsunami. After all the Jewish victims and survivors were cared for, we set our sights on helping the general Thai population who had been victims of the treacherous Tsunami.
Click here to see the magazine we put out highlighting the Jewish relief efforts carried out at that time.
You and I, can make all the difference in the world.
At the core of the Rebbes leadership was the belief that every person—regardless of background or knowledge—could be empowered as a conduit to spread goodness and kindness wherever they were. Together, those combined acts could illuminate the world, elevating it and bringing true transcendence.
Let us embrace the Rebbe’s vision and try even harder to live up to our full potential.
So that we can merit to greet Mashiach and usher in a world of peace NOW.
Chodesh tov and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS. I will be visiting the Rebbe’s resting place on Sunday and will be happy to bring your prayers to the holy space of the Ohel. Please click here to send a me note to bring on your behalf.
PPS. I think I may have seen a miracle this week.
Here is a fresh story from my current trip to NY.
Yaakov, a former bar mitzvah student (from twelve years ago) reached out to me a few months ago to resume learning. Now he was 25 and wanted to reengage with the eternal wisdom of the Torah. We had some great learning sessions and got refreshed on laying Tefilin and praying.
Yaakov told me he would be in New York this week. I said ‘great! I am also planning to be in NY. Let us schedule to meet in New York at the Rebbe’s Ohel so I can introduce you to this special holy space and guide you the first time you visit’.
It worked out beautifully. We met up. Studied some Torah, wrote a blessing note and prayed together at the Ohel.
I then gave Yaakov a ride to Brooklyn where he was meeting with some friends.
On the way he told me ‘Rabbi I was mugged yesterday’. I wasn’t sure I heard right and asked him incredulously ‘what did you say’?
Yaakov told me that he had been doing some grocery shopping for his host and while walking down the street holding his groceries, a person sided up to him and told him that he had a knife and would violate him if he didn’t hand over all his cash. He had $13 and he gave it to him. The perpetrator said, ‘I don’t believe you have only $13, I am sure you have more’. Yaakov insisted that he didn’t. Thank G-d the perpetrator walked away and left Yaakov unscathed.
Is it possible that the prayers Yaakov was planning to make at the Rebbe’s Ohel the next day already started working retroactively in a miraculous way?
To me that is the way it seems.
Prayers are so powerful. Let us not restrict ourselves to praying for what seems plausible or possible. When praying to G-d even the sky is not the limit.
May the Almighty answer all of our prayers for the good.